2009 satellite collision

{{main|Iridium 33|Kosmos 2251}}

Kosmos 2251 was a {{convert|950|kg|adj=on|-2}} Russian Strela military communications satellite owned by the Russian Space Forces. Kosmos 2251 was launched on a Russian Cosmos-3M carrier rocket on June 16, 1993. This satellite had been deactivated prior to the collision, and remained in orbit as space debris.

The other spacecraft, Iridium{{nbsp}}33, was a {{convert|560|kg|adj=on|-2}} U.S.-built commercial satellite that was part of the Iridium constellation for satellite phones. It was launched on September 14, 1997, atop a Russian Proton rocket.

Events where two satellites approach within several kilometers of each other occur numerous times each day. Sorting through the large number of potential collisions to identify those that are high risk presents a challenge. Precise, up-to-date information regarding current satellite positions is difficult to obtain. Calculations made by CelesTrak had expected these two satellites to miss by {{convert|584|m|ft|abbr=on||}}.{{cite web|url=http://celestrak.com/events/collision.asp |publisher=CelesTrak |title=Iridium 33/Cosmos 2251 Collision |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317043727/http://celestrak.com/events/collision.asp |archivedate=March 17, 2009 |url-status=dead }}

Planning an avoidance maneuver with due consideration of the risk, the fuel consumption required for the maneuver, and its effects on the satellite's normal functioning can also be challenging. John Campbell of Iridium spoke at a June 2007 forum discussing these tradeoffs and the difficulty of handling all the notifications they were getting regarding close approaches, which numbered 400 per week (for approaches within {{cvt|5|km|0}}) for the entire Iridium constellation. He estimated the risk of collision per conjunction as one in 50{{nbsp}}million.{{Cite news|magazine=The Space Review |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1314/1 |title=Billiards in space |first=Brian |last=Weeden |date=February 23, 2009 |accessdate=February 24, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226195408/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1314/1 |archivedate=February 26, 2009 |url-status=live }}

File:Collision iridium33 kosmos2251.jpg

The collision occurred at 16:56 UTC and destroyed both the Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251. The Iridium satellite was operational at the time of the collision. Kosmos-2251 had gone out of service in 1995.{{cite news | url = http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1010/42/374510.htm | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130113200715/http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1010/42/374510.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 13, 2013 | title = First Satellite Collision Called Threat in Space | publisher = Moscow Times | date = February 13, 2009 | accessdate = February 19, 2009 }} It had no propulsion system,Игорь Королев. Авария на $50 млн // Ведомости, № 26 (2296), 13 февраля 2009 and was no longer actively controlled.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7885051.stm|title=Russian and US satellites collide|date=February 12, 2009|work=BBC News|quote=Russia has not commented on claims the satellite was out of control |accessdate=February 12, 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090212214623/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7885051.stm| archivedate= February 12, 2009 | url-status= live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE51A8IA20090211 |title=U.S., Russian satellites collide in space |publisher=Reuters |first=Jim |last=Wolf |date=February 11, 2009 |accessdate=February 12, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215175257/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE51A8IA20090211 |archivedate=February 15, 2009 |url-status=live }}

File:Collision-1a1.jpg|Point of collision

File:Collision-20a.jpg|Debris fields after 20 minutes

File:Collision-50a.jpg|Debris fields after 50 minutes

File:Iridium33 flashes.jpg

File:SpaceDebrisHistogram.png. (2011)]]

NASA, the U.S. space agency, initially estimated ten days after the collision that the satellite space incident had created at least 1,000 pieces of debris larger than {{cvt|10|cm|0}}, in addition to many smaller ones.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2009-02-19-space-junk_N.htm|first=Veronika |last=Oleksyn|title= What a mess! Experts ponder space junk problem|publisher= Associated Press|date= February 19, 2009| accessdate= May 20, 2010 }} By July 2011, the U.S. Space Surveillance Network had catalogued over 2000 large debris fragments from the collision.{{cite web|title=Orbital Debris Quarterly News, July 2011 |publisher=NASA Orbital Debris Program Office |url=http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv15i3.pdf |accessdate=January 1, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020092342/http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv15i3.pdf |archivedate=October 20, 2011 }} NASA determined the risk to the International Space Station, which orbits about {{convert|430|km}} below the collision course, to be low,{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7885051.stm|title=Russian and US satellites collide|date=February 12, 2009|accessdate=February 12, 2009|publisher=BBC| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090212214623/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7885051.stm| archivedate= February 12, 2009 | url-status= live}}{{cite news | title = Big satellites collide 500 miles over Siberia | url = http://origin.foxnews.com/wires/2009Feb11/0,4670,SatelliteCollision,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711022511/http://origin.foxnews.com/wires/2009Feb11/0,4670,SatelliteCollision,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = July 11, 2011 | publisher = The Associated Press | first = Marcia | last = Dunn | date = February 12, 2009 | accessdate = May 20, 2010 }} as was any threat to the shuttle launch (STS-119) then planned for late February 2009. However, Chinese scientists have said that the debris does pose a threat to Chinese satellites in Sun-synchronous orbits,{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/12/content_10809710.htm |title=China alert on U.S.-Russian satellite collision |publisher=Xinhua |date=February 12, 2009 |accessdate=February 12, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213132717/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/12/content_10809710.htm |archivedate=February 13, 2009 |url-status=dead }} and the ISS did have to perform an avoidance maneuver due to collision debris in March 2011.

By December 2011, many smaller pieces of the debris were in an observable orbital decay towards Earth, and were expected to burn up in the atmosphere within one to two years. In 2016, Space News listed the collision as the second-biggest fragmentation event in history, with Kosmos-2251 and Iridium 33 producing, respectively, 1,668 and 628 pieces of catalogued debris, of which 1,141 and 364 pieces of tracked debris remained in orbit as of January 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/10-breakups-account-for-13-of-cataloged-debris/|title=10 breakups account for 1/3 of catalogued debris|publisher=Space News|date=April 25, 2016|access-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-date=22 Nov 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122163351/http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/10-breakups-account-for-13-of-cataloged-debris/ }} In 2024, 15 years after the collision, the U.S. Space Surveillance Catalog listed 916{{cite web |url=https://www.space-track.org/basicspacedata/query/class/satcat_debut/OBJECT_TYPE/DEBRIS/DECAY/null-val/INTLDES/~~1993-036/orderby/INTLDES%20asc/limit/1/metadata/true/emptyresult/show |title=Query INTLDES like 1993-036 and DECAY is NULL and OBJECT_TYPE is DEBRIS |website=space-track.org |url-access=registration |access-date=Feb 14, 2024 }} and 212{{cite web |url=https://www.space-track.org/basicspacedata/query/class/satcat_debut/OBJECT_TYPE/DEBRIS/DECAY/null-val/INTLDES/~~1997-051/orderby/INTLDES%20asc/limit/1/metadata/true/emptyresult/show |title=Query INTLDES like 1997-051 and DECAY is NULL and OBJECT_TYPE is DEBRIS |website=space-track.org |url-access=registration |access-date=Feb 14, 2024 }} pieces of debris still in orbit, respectively.

A small piece of Kosmos-2251 satellite debris safely passed by the International Space Station at 2:38 a.m. EDT, Saturday, March 24, 2012, at a distance of approximately {{cvt|120|m}}. As a precaution, ISS management had the six crew members on board the orbiting complex take refuge inside the two docked Soyuz rendezvous spacecraft until the debris had passed.{{Cite AV media |title=Orbital Debris Safely Passes International Space Station |time=23 minutes 30 seconds |type=Web Broadcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw5zkf2ZfvA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/Kw5zkf2ZfvA |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Association |date=March 23, 2012 |accessdate=March 23, 2012}}{{cbignore}}

A number of reports of phenomena in the U.S. states of Texas, Kentucky, and New Mexico were attributed to debris from the collision in the days immediately following the first reports of the incident in 2009,{{cite news|first=Joe |last=Byrne |url=http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Satellite_wreckage_falls_on_Kentucky_Texas_0215.html |title=Satellite wreckage falls on Kentucky, Texas, New Mexico |date=February 15, 2009 |accessdate=February 16, 2009 |publisher=The Raw Story |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217204710/http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Satellite_wreckage_falls_on_Kentucky_Texas_0215.html |archivedate=February 17, 2009 }} although NASA and the United States Strategic Command, which tracks satellites and orbital debris, did not announce any reentries of debris at the time{{cite web |first=Tony |last=Phillips |title=Fireball Mania |url=http://spaceweather.com/glossary/fireballmania.htm |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Association |date=February 14, 2009 |accessdate=December 14, 2011}} and reported that these phenomena were unrelated to the collision.{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6264797.html|title=Metallic meteorite likely sent fireball across Texas sky|first=Eric|last=Berger|first2=Mark|last2=Carreau|date=February 16, 2009|accessdate=February 16, 2009|publisher=Houston Chronicle}} On February 13, 2009, witnesses in Kentucky heard sonic booms.{{cite news|url=http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/39600862.html |title=Satellites Collide; Debris Seen Falling Over Kentucky|date=February 13, 2009|accessdate=February 16, 2009|publisher=WYMT News| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090217044025/http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/39600862.html| archivedate= February 17, 2009 | url-status= dead}} The National Weather Service issued an information statement alerting residents of sonic booms due to the falling satellite debris.{{cite web|url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=JKL&product=PNS&issuedby=JKL |title=...POSSIBLE SATELLITE DEBRIS FALLING ACROSS THE REGION...|date=February 13, 2009|accessdate=February 16, 2009|publisher=NOAA| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090217071308/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=JKL&product=PNS&issuedby=JKL| archivedate= February 17, 2009 | url-status= live}} The Federal Aviation Administration also released a notice warning to pilots of the re-entering debris.{{cite news|first=William|last=Harwood|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0902/15debris/|title=FAA warns of possible falling satellite debris|date=February 15, 2009|accessdate=February 16, 2009|publisher=CBS News Space Place| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090219165031/http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0902/15debris/| archivedate= February 19, 2009 | url-status= live}} Some reports include details that point to these phenomena being caused by a meteoroid shower. A very bright meteor over Texas on February 15, 2009, was mistaken for reentering debris by some witnesses.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/15/texas-fireball-whats-known-so-far/|title=Texas Fireball: What's known so far|first=Phil|last=Plait|date=February 15, 2009|publisher=Bad Astronomy blog|accessdate=February 17, 2009|archive-date=November 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124134530/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/02/15/texas-fireball-whats-known-so-far/|url-status=dead}}

This collision and numerous near-misses have renewed calls for mandatory disposal of defunct satellites (typically by deorbiting them, or at minimum, sending them to a graveyard orbit), but no such international law exists as of 2024. Nevertheless, some countries have adopted such a law domestically, such as France in December 2010.{{cite web |first=Glenn H |last=Reynolds |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4303567.html |title=Space Junk and the Law of Space Collisions |date=March 12, 2009 |publisher=Popular Mechanics |accessdate=March 18, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316163533/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4303567.html |archivedate=March 16, 2009 |url-status=dead }} The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires all geostationary satellites launched after March 18, 2002 to commit to moving to a graveyard orbit at the end of their operational life.{{cite web |last=de Selding |first=Peter |date=June 28, 2004 |title=FCC Enters Orbital Debris Debate |url=http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_040628.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040701012010/http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_040628.html |archive-date=July 1, 2004 |publisher=Space News}}

• 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test – another large space debris creation event
• ASM-135 ASAT – first-known anti-satellite weapon test
• Kessler syndrome (ablation cascade) – a positive feedback loop where space debris creates more debris until all orbits are prohibited
• Laser broom – a proposed method of getting rid of space debris
• Operation Burnt Frost
• Project West Ford – largest recorded space debris creation event
• Space Liability Convention

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Wikinews|has=news coverage of the 2009 satellite collision| Russian and US satellites collide| Burning debris from satellites spotted over several US cities}}

• {{Cite news |last=Courtland |first=Rachel |date=February 13, 2009 |title=Satellite crash prediction is plagued with uncertainty |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16592-satellite-crash-prediction-is-plagued-with-uncertainty.html |magazine=New Scientist |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090305073200/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16592-satellite-crash-prediction-is-plagued-with-uncertainty.html |archive-date=March 5, 2009 |url-status= live |access-date=February 13, 2009}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100514075852/http://www.agi.com/media-center/multimedia/current-events/iridium-33-cosmos-2251-collision/default.aspx Videos, interactive 3D Viewer files, 3D models, and high-resolution images available to better understand this collision (archived 2010)] from Analytical Graphics, Inc.
• [http://vimeo.com/3218040 Video: Satellite collision animation] {{--}} A Google Earth Browser plug-in simulation of the crash of two satellites, on Vimeo

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Satellite collision

Category:February 2009

Category:Iridium Communications

Category:Satellite collisions